you smiled gently, hoping that you would be able to keep your promise of seeing your dad and brother every week. stumbling out of the bedroom, you found that the two mafiosos remained in the doorway, patient as ever. swallowing your saliva, you looked at the two with the most serious face you could muster, which happened to actually be a bit frightening. "ill be taking my fathers place. is there any tests or requirements i must pass or fulfill?"
the red head of the two gave you a stern glare, "no, but we do have a few questions. have you ever killed a man?"
"yes." you answered, making your father do a double-take as he was unaware of this.
"how many?" the other asked, flipping his long hair behind his back.
you wrinkled your nose, shifting your sunglasses upwards. "three, but im willing to bump up that number if necessary."
the lighter haired of the two looked over at his partner, murmuring something in his ear before turning back to you. "how were you able to freeze your father?"
"using 'Pink Floyd', a ghost that's haunted me for about several years now." you replied, folding your arms and puffing out your chest.
the two gave you a contemplative look before the white haired man smiled, "that's called a stand, dear. its not a ghost, but its there to protect you. do you mind showing us it?"
huffing in annoyance at their constant questions, you summoned Pink Floyd, its sleek, plastic pink skin shining in the dim light of your house. the two mafioso's gasped in shock, your dad unmoved as he couldnt see it. "she's able to caramelize any target i hit with my candy bullets, only able to break them out of their paralyzed state with the snap of my fingers. i can also encase myself in the tough, glass-like candy, though it only lasts for around two minutes."
breaking out of their shocked trance, the two looked at you with a happy expression. "alright!" the white haired one chirped. "we think youll do just fine. isnt that right, squalo?"
the red head, squalo, turned to look at his partner with an amused smile. "definitely. she has a lot of potential."
you folded your arms, the skirt you wore twirling in the air as you shifted your weight from foot to foot. "is there anything else you guys need to know before i go to pack my things?"
they stared at each other for a moment before shaking their heads. "go get your things quickly," squalo ordered, "you'll be heading in today and beginning your work next week."
you nodded, not wasting anytime in rushing to your bedroom and stuffing your things into a single suitcase. you pushed past your father, who attempted to grab your arm and stop you, though you slipped away from him quickly. slamming your door shut, you immediately yanked out your bright red suitcase and began to fill it full of your clothes, items, and collection of sunglasses.
besides basic clothing, you threw in your favorite kitchenware, which happened to be a set of knives, an expensive whisk, and meat scissors. after tossing in your nurse first aid kit from when you worked at a hospital, you quickly crammed everything else inside and shut the suit case closed.
your blood boiled in your veins, a newfound sensation of fury writhing inside you, waiting to escape and wreck havoc. breaking your anger, the sound of your door creaking open nearly made you jump out of your skin. "sis?" a sheepish voice called out. "what's going on?
you slowly turned around, upset that your dad didnt stop alois from entering your room. his fluffy orange hair was strewn into different directions, a tired expression dragging his face into a yawn. he mustve just woken up, seeing as how he was holding his favorite toy, which happened to be a little fish stuffed animal.
you sighed, walking over to your six-year-old brother and squatting to his level. he was so sweet and innocent, a canvas having not been tainted by the horrors of this cruel world. he deserved the sun, moon, stars, and so much more. though, right now all you could give him was protection.
a soft hand came up to gently cup alois' chubby cheek, his diamond eyes looking into yours with worry. "i got a new job, alli. im going to be gone every week, ok? i promise to try to visit you on the weekends, though."
alois didnt seem to be able to process the statement, clutching the fish, named bernie, against his chest. "youre going away? for... how long?"
"for a long time, alli."
he sniffled at the familiar nickname, finally understanding that he wont be seeing you for a while. he pushed away the hand that held his cheek tenderly, lunging toward you and holding you in a tight hug. a wail ripped through his throat, tears pumping out of his eyes nonstop and staining his deep sea themed pajamas. "no-no! please dont leave! dont leave me and dad here! we still ha-have to wait for mom together, remember?!"
you huffed, wanting to smile at his innocence. "yeah, we still have to wait for mom... but, while we do that, we need someone to go make some money, right? dad cant work at libeccios forever, you know."
he buried his face into the crook of your neck, his sobs cutting between his mumbled sentences. you rubbed the back of his head, pulling away to place both your hands on his shoulders. "alois, while im gone, youre going to have to protect dad alright? he's an old man and cant help himself if he sees a pot of coffee, so one of these days he might have a heart attack."
alois giggled at your joke. "yeah, dad always smells funny when he drinks coffee!"
"exactly, so im putting you in charge of coffee regulations! do you think you can care for dad while im gone, deep sea explorer alois (l/n)?"
he sniffled, wiping his nose with his sleeve before giving you a strong salute. "yes ma'am! i promise to watch over dad while youre gone!"
you smiled weakly, "good."
"but.." he started, looking down bernie. "how do i know youll come back to us?"
you hummed, sliding off your rose glasses and placing them onto his face gently. "these are my favorite sunglasses. take care of them for me, because ill be coming back to get them from you when im done getting money for us, ok?"
he brought his free, little hand up to the large sunglasses on his face, pushing them up his light button nose with a sad smile. he looked adorably ridiculous, the accessory far too big for his little face. "ok! i promise to keep these in mint condition for your return! you better come back, or bernie will get mad and eat your glasses!"
you laughed, guiding him out of your room. "im sure he will, now go, alois the sailor! make me proud!"
"i will! just you wait!"
and with that, he hurried off to his own room, the light pit-pats of his feet echoing down the hall until there was nothing but silence. 'youre going to turn into a great kid, alli. im sure of it.'
returning to your packing, you found that you had actually already stored everything away already. fighting back a sob of despair, you brought the suitcase to its feet and took one final look into your standing mirror, examining your pink bangs. you dont recall how or when the front of your (h/c) hair turned pink, but its not like it mattered. it just seemed unusual to you. after all, you didnt dye them that way. thats just how your hair was. looking back toward your dresser, you snatched a pair of orange sunglasses in favor of alois.
strutting back into the main room, you found that squalo and his partner, which you had learned to be named tiziano, were waiting patiently on your couch, talking to alois in a gentle manner. a vein pulsed out of your neck, the sheer audacity of these disgusting men having the nerve to talk to your sweet baby brother as if it were nothing making you more than upset.
alois seemed just as unsettled, asking questions like "so, who are you guys?" and "why is my sissy leaving with you? what job did she get?"
thankfully, squalo only told the little boy that: "your big sis has some matters she needs to attend to in order to keep you and your dad safe. we're just people that are going to escort her to her new job."
alois let out a quiet 'ok' before pushing up the large sunglasses on his face, accidentally dropping bernie the fish when he used both hands to fix the glasses. bending down to pick up his stuffed animal again, alois waddled to his room to do whatever he pleased, squalo and tiziano finally acknowledging your existence.
"oh, are you ready to leave?" squalo asked, standing up and stretching his arms.
you quickly kissed your wrist for good measures, making sure your caramel gloss bullets were fully loaded. "yeah, lets get going."
right as you were about to walk out of the front door and board the mafiosos car, a large, calloused hand placed itself on your shoulder. you turned around to face your father, finding his eyes lined with tears and his lip quivering. "please, my special daughter, be safe. dont forget to come back some day, me and alois will wait for you. it can be days, years even. we'll wait for eternity if we have to, just promise youll come back to me, my little girl."
you smiled sadly, hugging your father tightly. "i promise, dad. im going to fix everything, and hopefully find a way to track where mom went while im at it. she doesn't deserve to be living the high-life somewhere while we're stuck drowning in debt."
your father nodded, pulling away to plant a quick goodbye kiss onto your forehead. "i love you. stay safe, (y/n)."
"you got it dad. i promise to stay safe for you and alois, though dont expect me to be in pristine shape. im obviously going to get a few scratches here and there working in the mob."
he laughed a bit, a few of his tears rolling down his face like rain on a window. "ill keep alois distracted while you drive off. we dont need him clinging to your leg and preventing you from leaving."
you nodded, kissing him on the cheek before walking toward the car squalo and tiziano, popping out a caramel lollipop and throwing it into your mouth. sliding into the passenger seat, you waved goodbye to your father, who was now holding alois in his arms, who still had the red sunglasses on his face, which conveniently covered his crying blue eyes.
the car slowly pulled forward, driving off to the mafias headquarters and leaving alois and your father at the house alone, mourning your leave.
you however, were smiling the entire car ride. something told you that you'd be able to find your mom through the boss, of whom she was apparently close with for whatever reason. maybe, you could use him to find her and punish her.
She was a sweet woman, kind hearted like any other, but she had sinister desires that led to this situation. you remember when she first taught you how to cut food properly, teaching you to slice with strength and precision.
and now, you were going to use those skills to cut her.